Tag Archives: Alan McCullough

Lea Thompson and Stacey Farber shine in CTV’s The Spencer Sisters

The British mystery genre is where I live. When I’m not watching and covering Canadian TV, I’m streaming light crime dramas from across the pond on AcornTV and BritBox. From Whitstable Pearl to Vera, Harry Wild to Murder in Suburbia, I love them all.

Consider The Spencer Sisters, debuting Friday at 9 p.m. ET/PT on CTV, as Canada’s foray into the genre.

Like the above, The Spencer Sisters features crimes being committed in a fictional small town—Alder Bluffs, Ont.—two female leads at the helm to solve them, a generous dose of humour and, when they happen, bloodless murders. It’s an irresistible formula for success that is even more pronounced thanks to its leads, Lea Thompson and Stacey Farber. The pair crackle with chemistry from the get-go, playing acclaimed mystery novelist Victoria Spencer (Thompson), mom to hot-headed former police officer Darby Spencer (Farber).

“It starts with character,” Thompson says when asked what attracted her to the shot-in-Winnpeg series. “I really liked the character and I love comedy and the comedic elements to this. This is a really good time for this show.”

Created by Alan McCullough (Private Eyes. Rookie Blue) and co-showrun and executive-produced by McCullough and Jenn Engels (Sort Of, Transplant), Friday’s debut “The Scholar’s Snafu,” finds Darby returning to Alder Bluffs after she quits her big-city police force in frustration. For Darby, who looked up to her late cop father, this was all she wanted to do. Dejected, and with nowhere to stay, Darby returns home where it only takes one backhanded comment from Victoria to let viewers know this mother-daughter relationship isn’t rosy. Unlike their characters, who are pretty bristly in the debut, Thompson and Farber connected immediately.

“She was attached to the show before I was,” Farber says. “We did a chemistry read on Zoom and then we met in Winnipeg, had dinner and clicked immediately. We have a similar sense of humour and we’ve both worked for a long time, we have a lot in common.”

The friction between mother and daughter continues throughout the first season. Darby is struggling with her failure as a cop, moving back home and being forced to acknowledge why she has avoided seeing her mother for so long. And Victoria, who has never agreed with Darby’s career choice, wants to be part of her daughter’s life and finds a way to do it through their partnering to solve crimes committed in the community.

“They do learn to get along more, but no, [that friction] never goes away,” Farber says with a laugh. “It’s realistic in that sense. You can think you’ve moved through or on from an issue, but you haven’t.”

The Spencer Sisters airs Fridays at 9 p.m. ET/PT on CTV.

Image courtesy of Bell Media.

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CTV original series The Spencer Sisters premieres Feb. 10 on CTV

From a media release:

A mother-and-daughter duo become budding crime investigators in the new CTV Original drama THE SPENCER SISTERS, airing Fridays at 9 p.m. ET/PT on CTV, CTV.ca, and the CTV app beginning February 10. Created by award-winning executive producer Alan McCullough (PRIVATE EYES, ROOKIE BLUE) and co-showrun with Jenn Engels (SORT OF), the female-led series is a light-hearted, one-hour procedural that follows mystery novelist Victoria Spencer (Lea Thompson, Back To The Future, CAROLINE IN THE CITY) and her daughter Darby Spencer (Stacey Farber, VIRGIN RIVER, SCHITT’S CREEK) who are mistaken as sisters as they tackle puzzling cases in the fictional town of Alder Bluffs, Ont. Filmed in Winnipeg, the first season consists of 10 one-hour episodes.

In THE SPENCER SISTERS, after a string of bad luck, Toronto police officer Darby Spencer (Farber) quits her job and is forced to return home to her estranged mother, internationally renowned mystery novelist Victoria Spencer (Thompson). After the duo are thrust into solving a crime together, Darby discovers a side to Victoria she never knew, and ultimately takes the plunge into the unlikeliest of ventures: becoming her partner in a private detective agency. Despite their opposing personalities, generational differences and complicated history, they discover they may have more in common than they thought. Each episode brings a new case to solve, and while the tightly-wound Darby and the carefree Victoria may never quite see eye to eye, they discover that maybe – just maybe – they need each other more than they realize.

Joining the cast in supporting roles are Thomas Antony Olajide (Learn To Swim) as Darby’s high school best friend and Alder Bluffs cop Zane Graham; Edward Ruttle (ARCTIC AIR) as Darby’s high school flame Doctor Lucas Collins; Husein Madhavji (SAVING HOPE) as Victoria’s “IT Consultant” (a.k.a. hacker) Alastair Dhumal; Ayesha Mansur Gonsalves (SORT OF) as Victoria’s feisty literary agent Sarita Stark; Rodrigo Massa (EL DRAGÓN: RETURN OF A WARRIOR) as Zane’s (Olajide) husband Antonio Pereira, who operates a Brazilian bistro in Alder Bluffs; Kaitlyn Leeb (SPINNING OUT) as Lindsay Yip – a hotshot lawyer who is Lucas’ fiancée; and Adam Hurtig (Cult of Chucky) as the lead detective of the Alder Bluff’s police force.

Season 1 also features guest appearances by Paul Popowich (MAYOR OF KINGSTOWN), Andrew Bushell (HUDSON & REX), Cindy Sampson (PRIVATE EYES), Seán Cullen (MURDOCH MYSTERIES), Matt Wells (Crown and Anchor), Alex Ozerov (CARDINAL), Jennifer Hui (STAR TREK: STRANGE NEW WORLDS), Nancy Sorel (THE MAN IN THE HIGH CASTLE), Mercedes Morris (AMERICAN GODS), Julius Cho (CHILDREN RUIN EVERYTHING), Mika Amonsen (EZRA), Daniel Kash (The Man From Toronto), Paul Essiembre (THE PORTER), Tova Epp (TITANS), Zarrin Darnell-Martin (GINNY & GEORGIA), and Hazel Venzon (BURDEN OF TRUTH).

On the series premiere of THE SPENCER SISTERS, “The Scholar’s Snafu” (Friday, Feb. 10 at 9 p.m. ET/PT on CTV, CTV.ca, and the CTV app), after her life in the city falls apart, former cop Darby Spencer (Farber) is forced to return to her childhood home and her estranged, best-selling mystery novelist mother Victoria Spencer (Thompson). But when Darby’s friend Kaia (guest star Jennifer Hui, STAR TREK: STRANGE NEW WORLDS) is wrongfully accused of plagiarism, Darby and Victoria must put aside their differences and investigate, uncovering a wide-ranging scandal. A special preview of the debut episode airs Sunday, Jan. 29 at 10 p.m. ET/7p.m. PT on CTV, CTV.ca, and the CTV app, immediately following the conclusion of the NFL Conference Championship.

Exclusive videos are available throughout the season on @CTV’s social channels and on CTV.ca and the CTV app, providing viewers with an extension of the series with bonus digital content that includes behind-the-scenes videos and more.

A CTV Original series, THE SPENCER SISTERS is produced by Entertainment One (eOne) and Buffalo Gal Pictures. The series is created by Alan McCullough and executive produced and co-showrun by McCullough and Jenn Engels .

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Lea Thompson and Stacey Farber cast as dynamic mother and daughter duo in CTV original series, The Spencer Sisters

From a media release:

CTV and Entertainment One (eOne), together with Buffalo Gal Pictures, today announced that award-winning television and film actress, director, and producer Lea Thompson (Back To The Future, CAROLINE IN THE CITY) and acclaimed Canadian actress Stacey Farber (VIRGIN RIVER, SCHITT’S CREEK) will headline the upcoming CTV Original procedural series, THE SPENCER SISTERS.

Created by Alan McCullough (PRIVATE EYES, ROOKIE BLUE) and executive produced and co-showrun by McCullough and Jenn Engels (SORT OF), the lighthearted 10-episode, one-hour series centres on a hot-headed former police officer Darby Spencer (Farber) and her estranged, internationally renowned, mystery novelist mother, Victoria Spencer (Thompson). Despite opposite personalities, differing sensibilities, and a complicated history, they embark on the unlikeliest of ventures: becoming partners in a private detective agency. THE SPENCER SISTERS is set to begin production next month in Winnipeg, with broadcast slated for 2023. Additional details are to be announced at a later date.

As one of the titular characters, Victoria Spencer (Thompson) is an intelligent, charismatic, and renowned best-selling author of mystery novels, who is suffering from crippling writer’s block. When her estranged daughter Darby returns home, Victoria seizes the opportunity to reconnect with her. After the two work to solve a crime together, Victoria is inspired by the experience – and the possibility of a mended relationship with her daughter – to sit behind the keyboard once more.

Darby Spencer (Farber) is a smart, opinionated, and passionate woman who follows in her late father’s footsteps and becomes a police officer – much to Victoria’s stark disapproval. Carrying an innate intellect and the natural intuition of an experienced detective, Darby’s career aspirations come to a halt when she impetuously quits her job as a police constable after an unjust reprimand. About to turn 30 and in a dead-end relationship with a cheating boyfriend, she returns home, where to her surprise, she finds she may have more in common with her mother than she thought.

Talent biographies for the leading actresses are as follows:

Lea Thompson
Lea Thompson is actress, singer, and director, continuously honing her craft for over 40 years. She is best known for starring in the iconic Back To The Future films. Thompson has also starred in All The Right Moves with Tom Cruise, George Lucas’s Howard The Duck, John Hughes Some Kind Of Wonderful, and Red Dawn. Thompson won the People’s Choice award for the title role in the NBC sitcom CAROLINE IN THE CITY. Her acting credits are many, including Sally Bowles in Cabaret on Broadway, THE JANE DOE MYSTERIES, 102 episodes of the Peabody award-winning series SWITCHED AT BIRTH, and many telefilms and Sundance indies. Some of her directing credits include THE GOLDBERGS, Chuck Lorre’s CBS comedy MOM and YOUNG SHELDON, RESIDENT ALIEN, Greg Berlanti’s, STARGIRL, and STAR TREK: PICARD. Lea is perhaps most proud of her feature directorial debut The Year Of Spectacular Men, which her daughter Madelyn Deutch wrote, scored, and starred in, along with Lea and her other talented daughter Zoey Deutch. She has been married to their father, director Howard Deutch for 33 years. She is represented by Gilbertson Entertainment, Innovative Artists and Yorn, Levine, Barnes, Krintzman, Rubenstein, Kohner, Endlich & Gellman.

Stacey Farber
Stacey Farber is known for her compelling performances in numerous hit TV series— both dramatic and comedic. She recurs as grief-stricken Tara in the Netflix chart-topper VIRGIN RIVER and played villainous Leslie Larr in The CW’s breakout SUPERMAN & LOIS. She can also be seen in the award-winning comedies SCHITT’S CREEK (CBC/Pop TV), GRACE AND FRANKIE (Netflix), and 18 TO LIFE (CBC) as well as UnREAL (Lifetime), THE BRAVE (NBC), DIGGSTOWN (BET+), CHICAGO JUSTICE (NBC), SAVING HOPE (CTV/Ion TV), and ROOKIE BLUE (GLOBAL/ABC). For seven years, Stacey portrayed the fan-favourite character Ellie Nash in DEGRASSI: THE NEXT GENERATION (CTV). She is represented by The Characters Talent Agency, Manager Christina Gualazzi and A3 Artists Agency.

A CTV Original series, THE SPENCER SISTERS is produced by eOne together with Buffalo Gal Pictures with the participation of the Canada Media Fund and the Bell Fund, and is distributed internationally by eOne. The series is executive produced by McCullough and Jenn Engels, who are both co-showrunners. Jocelyn Hamilton serves as Executive Producer for eOne. Phyllis Laing and Jennifer Beasley are executive producers for Buffalo Gal Pictures.

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